The New Avatar
by AvatarKuruk
Summary: A story about the next Avatar after Aang
1. Prologue: The Fall of the Avatar

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters, places, items etc.**

**-Prologue-**

**The Fall of the Avatar**

The door burst down, a blast of air shooting out from behind it and whipping the Fire Lord in his face, but still he remained nonchalant as he sat in his cross-legged pose. Out of the open doorframe came a man, about the age of fifteen. He was bald, clad in loose, orange clothes, and he bore a long sky-blue arrow tattoo that snaked from the crown of his head, down his back, to each of his hands and legs. But the Fire Lord knew who this was: He was Aang, the last of the Air Nomads, and the Avatar.

Aang stood ferociously, his staff pointed towards the calm Fire Lord, who slowly stood up, as if he was alone. But then, in a quick movement, an electric-blue bolt of fire was in the air, and the Fire Lord's robes had fallen to reveal a streamlined crimson set of armor.

Aang swung his staff, and the fireball spread and spun around his body, and then when the staff finished it spin, the ball was catapulted back at Ozai. Ozai flicked his wrist, and the fireball disappeared in a puff of smoke. Then with a quick circular motion, a thick stream of lightning rocketed towards the Avatar, casting an eerie electric-blue light in the long hall.

Aang stomped on the ground, ripping a wall of stone from the floor. The bolt connected with the rock wall and dissipated with a sharp crackle. Then with a sideways kick, the wall was sent shooting towards Ozai. The Fire Lord leapt nimbly to the air, and then the speeding wall of stone struck the scarlet throne.

Out of the air came bolt after bolt of lightning, all of them shooting towards the Air Nomad. Aang was amazed, it had taken him years to master lightning generation, and still he couldn't summon it at the blinding speed that Ozai could. But Aang dodged the bolts, the bright jets of lightning exploded right by Aang's feet. But then came a bolt, shooting right towards Aang, he didn't have time to dodge it, so he made a split-second decision, and pointed his fingers towards the lightning, and as they struck the tips of his fingers, he felt his arms warm up and tingle, like a million pins and needles as the energy flowed down his outstretched arms. Then he swooped downwards, the sensation spreading to his stomach, and then back out his fingers, and into the open door, an old statue exploding behind him.

Ozai landed nimbly and stood up quickly, holding a ready position. Then they began to circle. Both of them breathed heavily; sweat already pouring down their foreheads.

"I see my brother has got to you," He said, a wicked smile spread across his thin lips. "He had always prided himself with that technique."

Aang wasn't here to talk, so he pulled his arms down in the air, and a circular wall of stone fell down towards Ozai, who countered the attack by jabbing through the stone wall with a stream of blue fire that melted through the stone of wall, the rest of the circular plate landing around him with a heavy thud. With a quick step, he leapt off the rock circle and into the air, a stream of fire enveloping his leg, outstretched and flying towards Aang's chest.

Aang waved his hands in a complex move, spinning and stepping many times, and then, a thick stream of water condensed from the air, and circled Aang. As Ozai's foot passed through the watery wall, the fire disappeared, and Aang trapped his leg in a lock position, and then slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending a jet of pain down his spine. Quickly recuperating, the Fire Lord leapt off the wall, driving his elbow into Aang's chest, winding him as well.

Soon they were both on the ground, and in a desperate attempt to escape Ozai, he sunk himself under the stone ground of the palace. Ozai leapt up with blinding speed, looking around for the Avatar. Then, time seemed to freeze, the earth shook and a thunderous rumbling came from under the palace. Ozai's eyes dilated with fear and his skin paled to a deathly white shade.

Then the ground exploded.

A mass of stone, debris and bits of crimson red decoration shot off into the air. A massive explosion of air knocked Ozai off his feet and sent him spinning into the air like a helpless ant in a hurricane.

Out of the wreckage, in a ball of gyrating air, hovered Aang, his tattoos and eyes glowing more brightly than ever, casting a pale aura around him. Then he dropped to the ground, clearing the colossal pile of debris that was formerly the Fire Nation palace with a flick of his hand. Then with one stomp, he formed a circle of stone: an arena.

A few meters away from the glowing Avatar, was Ozai, who quickly jumped back onto his feet. Aang almost laughed as he saw the Fire Lord's face, it was showing, for probably the first time ever, fear. But he quickly retained his passively malevolent expression, and readied himself for the battle of a lifetime.

With lightning speed, the young teen swiped his hands, and the tiles of the ground shook up and down, disrupting Ozai's balance, and with a swift punch, a gargantuan gust of wind blew from behind him, the trees and grass of the nearby garden shaking violently, almost being pulled from the ground.

Ozai tumbled to the ground and dug his fingers into the ground, and propelled himself into the air with defiant stomp, bursts of fire shooting from the soles of his boots. But as he grew airborne, he realized how futile his attempt was, and stopped struggling, and fell back and disappeared into the background.

Surprised, Aang released his grip on the wind, the trees resuming their normal, erect position. But this short lapse of concentration gave Ozai a momentary advantage. Suddenly, the ground around the ring set ablaze with forty foot tall flames, and out of them flew Ozai, his hair sweat-slicked over his face, numerous bloody cuts adorning his alabaster face.

The air now gained a thick stench of smoke, and the heat grew unbearable. The sweat sparkled on both of the men's faces as they stood as steadily as they could. The fire crackled loudly, deafening everything else and then Ozai spun, two tendrils of fire from the behemoth of a wall enveloping his slim figure. Then he outstretched his arms, two long blasts of fire sped towards Aang. But he punched through both of them without much effort, and countered the attack by collapsing the entire wall of fire onto Ozai.

The attack was massive, the heat disappeared, and the musty air seemed cold to Aang, but Ozai had it different. The wall of fire fell on him like petals of a flower closing for the winter, and Ozai hadn't any chance of protecting himself. So he created a circle of fire, attempting with futility to survive. And then the walls of fire were upon him.

They streamed around the dome of protective fire, like a dam of water breaking they covered the entire field, excepting a small circle around Aang. Once the fire died away, the glow disappeared from Aang's eyes and tattoos. He stepped forwards to Ozai's laboriously breathing body.

He knelt over the man and raised his fist high in the air, a ball of fire enveloping the fist.

"This is for Katara…" He said, one tear streaming down his cheek. And then he dropped the fist.

But before the strike landed, Ozai jabbed his fist into Aang's gut. He felt the fire burn through his organs, and his own fire died away. The last thing he ever saw was Ozai's grinning face.


	2. Chapter 1: The New Avatar

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar related characters, places, items etc.**

**-Chapter 1-**

**The New Avatar**

That morning was still. There wasn't a single cloud in the vast blue sky, only the rising sun that cast long shadows on the tall icebergs and village tents. It was a serene and beautiful sight, or at least Kan thought so as he sat outside, marveling at the tranquil view. Even though he had seen it so many times before, it never ceased to amaze him. But this morning there was something different about the horizon: There was a small silhouette moving towards the village. Kan squinted his eyes and then once he realized what it was, and then he ran into his father's tent.

He burst through the leather flap, and he found his father lying in a bedroll on the ground. Kan bent over and shook his father, who woke instantly, his hand moving to the hilt of his blade, but his grip eased as he saw Kan.

"Kan? What now?" He asked, confused.

"Come outside!" He urged, gesturing out of the tent.

His father stood up quickly, and ran outside with his son. As they got near the water's edge, Kan pointed out to the horizon.

"See that? Over there!" He said urgently.

"What—" Then he noticed the small speck in the horizon. "Is that?"

"A Northern Water Tribe boat, yes." Kan confirmed with a smile.

"What are they doing here?" Kan's father wondered.

"Well let's find out." Kan said, moving closer to the icy shore as the solitary vessel grew larger.

Kan moved to the very edge of a sheer icy cliff and placed his hand over his eyes and squinted, attempting to make out the details of the ship. From what he could make of it, it wasn't a battle ship, and it was completely unarmed, if it didn't have any benders on it that was. It was of royal make, judging by the quality of the wood and structure… Maybe it was an ambassador's vessel? He guessed. But he couldn't be sure until the ship was closer.

After about ten minutes, the ship was close enough for Kan to read the closest inscriptions. On the side of the vessel, in silver inscriptions it read: "_Tui and La_". Kan's heartbeat quickened as he read the words on the side. It was the Water Sages' vessel.

The Water Sages were the priests of the Water Tribes, who lived in the sacred towers of the Northern Water Tribe. They were very spiritual, and most had travelled to the spirit world themselves, or so they claimed.

Then the boat reached the icy shore, and the ice spread open, a hidden Waterbender making way for their ship. The boat kept passing through the icy wall with an invisible plow at their tip. And then it stopped by the very rim of the village. Now people began to wake and gather by the Sage's ship. Out of the boat stepped the two Water Sages, one for the Moon, one for the Ocean, Tui and La.

The men were clad in thick blue half-robes, trimmed with lines of soft white polar-bear fur. Upon their necks hung wide silver medallions, and on their heads were polar-bearskin headdresses. One of the two Sages took a step forwards, and with one graceful sweep, the ice rose and shaped itself into stairs. Then the men paced upwards, and only once they reached the top they cleared their throats.

"As you know, Avatar Aang died fifteen years ago, and the new Avatar is yet to be found. So we are here to test the Southern Water Tribe." One of the Sages said formally, his voice booming through the icy tundra.

"We will try ever child of fifteen years tomorrow, but for now, we are weary and would wish to meet your leader." The other one said; his voice equally sonorous.

Quickly a tall man approached. He was Bao, the village leader. He greeted the Sages quickly and then asked: "How can I accommodate you?"

"All we need is a place to sleep and some food," He said with a bow, and the other Sage agreed with a quick nod.

"Very well," Bao bowed. "Follow me; I will bring you to one of our largest tents." He gestured and began walking through the crowd.

As they made way to a large tent, Kan followed. He was interested about their arrival and wondered if anyone he knew would be the Avatar, they were all fifteen, and so was he, but he knew he wouldn't be the Avatar, it wasn't him.

Soon the Sages stepped into a large ice building that was built into a vertical ice-cliff. Kan knew if he was caught, he would be in trouble, but he felt such an urge to enter, he let go of his logical thinking and followed his instincts.

Once inside, he stepped softly, for even the faintest step echoed off the broad icy walls. But at least it was very light inside; despite the fact that the only source of light was the door and a few holes drilled into the roof with Waterbending. Once the Sages and Bao reached the main room they sat down by a table, and after Bao fetched some tea and whale-meat, they began to converse, and Kan began to eavesdrop.

"So, what should I call you?" Bao started.

"I am Nguyet," Said the man with the Moon symbol inscribed in his amulet.

"And I am Kaito," Said the other Sage. "But what shall we call you?"

"I am Bao, the leader of this village." He said pouring tea into the Sages' cups.

"Very well Bao, but now let's get to business." Said Nguyet as he pulled a roll of cloth from his loose sleeves and rolled it out onto the table.

The roll held many toys on it, some of them including a small stone turtle, a string-powered propeller, a stone hog-monkey statuette, a small red drum and a bag of marbles.

"Toys?" Bao remarked skeptically.

"Yes, these are toys." Nguyet admitted. "And some of these toys used to be possessions of every Avatar ever to be in existence."

This silenced Bao as he marveled at them. "But which ones?" Bao inquired curiously.

"That is not for you to know; only the spiritual leaders of every nation and the Avatar are allowed that information." Kaito said calmly.

Bao frowned slightly. "So these toys will determine the new Avatar?" He inquired, inspecting the toys closely. Kaito and Nguyet simply nodded.

"Tomorrow, we want you to collect all the fifteen-year-old Waterbenders of your tribe, and bring them to us where we can test them." Nguyet instructed coolly, sipping on his tea.

Bao nodded. "Very well, your rooms are down the hall at the very end. Goodbye." He stood up, bowed and exited.

Kan stood up and ran as silently as he could, just barely making it out of the icy building before Bao noticed him. Once he was outside, he stopped by the entrance and waited for Bao. Once he came out, Kan looked up, acting surprised.

"How did it go Bao?" He asked, trying to sound simply curious.

"Pretty well, you have to be here tomorrow by sunrise, ok? You'll be tested then with everyone else." Bao said.

"Okay." He said. "See you around Bao." He waved and started to run off towards his tent, anxious to find out who the new Avatar was in the morning.


	3. Chapter 2: The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar related characters, places, items etc.**

**-Chapter 2-**

**The Beginning **

The next morning Kan woke early, and took a quick look outside. The sun was peeking from the icy horizon, casting a golden glow on the frigid, snowy landscape. Kan new it was nearly time for people to be tested for the status of Avatar. He was excited, but knew it wouldn't be him. He wasn't spiritual enough, and simply believed in dying and going to the spirit world, like everyone did. Still he was excited for whoever the new Avatar would be. He dressed quickly and slung his blade by his side and ran outside.

It had snowed last night, and it had set an untouched bed of snow upon the uneven ground. The dawn-sun made the surface glitter like a sea of diamonds, like always, it was a sight to behold. Kan smiled and took a deep breath of the brisk morning air, and then started walking to the head of the village.

He walked laboriously, for with every step, he sunk halfway to his calves in the snow. But when he reached the destination he gave a relieved breath. By the door stood two of the Sage's bodyguards, both of them were clad in Northern Water Tribe clothing: a hood, cloth wrapped around the mouth, and a tall halberd in their gloved palms.

Around them stood a few other teens he knew, some of them were Duong, Hue, Tuyet and Tu. Kan walked to them and greeted them:

"Hey," He said and everybody turned towards him.

"Hey," They all replied and turned back into their circle, Kan joining in.

"So who do you think the Avatar's going to be?" Hue asked.

Most of the people shrugged. "Dunno, maybe Quy or someone. Bao keeps his kids pretty spiritual."

"Nah, I don't think so. The Avatar isn't born into a family just because they're rich." Duong retorted. "I think it might even be one of us."

Everyone fell silent, looking closely at each other. Then Tu broke the awkward silence.

"Who knows, let's just wait and see." She shrugged.

A murmur of agreement ran through the children, and then a voice boomed from the background: "Children! Come Forth!"

Everyone turned around and saw the two Sages standing by the doorway. The children approached the doorway.

"Form a line!" Nguyet commanded, the children obeyed instantly, forming a line, and to Kan's dismay, he was pushed to the back, third to last.

"First child, enter!" Kaito instructed pointing to Duong.

Duong shook nervously, but stepped forwards, trying to seem calm. Then he followed the solemn Sages into the building, after about fifteen minutes, he returned, a glum expression on his face.

"Wasn't me," He shrugged.

"What happened?" Tu urged.

"Can't tell, you'll see. The Sages made me vow silence." He said and left to his home.

Then one by one, the children were pulled into the building, and each and every one came out, disappointed. So far not a single child was the Avatar. Then it was Kan's turn, and he was very anxious, the Avatar was one of the four children left: Kan, Hoa, Lan and Quy.

"Kan, enter." Nguyet said, gesturing towards him. He decided not to ask how they knew his name.

As they entered, they remained perfectly silent, this unnerved Kan. Soon they reached the main chamber. In it was laid out three blankets, one longer than the rest that had a pile of toys lying upon it, just like Kan had seen when he was spying on them.

The Sages sat down, and gestured for him to do so as well. So he sat down on the blanket opposite to the two holy men.

"We are Nguyet,"

"And Kaito, the Water Sages." The two men said.

"This is a test that determines who the Avatar is." Nguyet said pointing towards the toys.

Kan put on a skeptical face, even though he already knew of the test.

"Four of these toys belonged to the past lives of the Avatar, and if you are the Avatar, you will know which toys to choose." Kaito responded to Kan's skeptical expression.

"Choose wisely." Nguyet said, and then they were silent.

Kan looked closely, inspecting every toy closely. The first toy he chose was a small stone turtle toy, which seemed oddly familiar, like a lost dream or something. Then he continued browsing through the many toys, and found a small hog-monkey statuette. It seemed interesting, so he picked it up.

As Kan peeked up, he noticed an intrigued expression on the two Sage's faces, and then he felt a pang of nervousness at the pit of his gut. What if it was him? His heart beat quickened as he reached for the third toy, a small red drum. He picked it up with sweaty hands and placed it in his pile. As he did so, he saw the Sages were just about as nervous and excited as he was. Then he looked around the pile for the last toy, and it caught his eye, a small string powered propeller toy. He picked it up, his hand shaking nervously as he placed the final toy into his pile.

Broad smiles spread on the bearded faces of the two Sages as they looked up from their polar-bear headdresses.

"Kan," Nguyet started. "Congratulations, you are the new Avatar." He said.

Kan's heart skipped a beat. He was the new Avatar… It was too surreal a concept to grasp. Maybe something had gone wrong in the test. But he knew it was true, he was the Avatar. He felt it in the darkest recesses of his mind.

"Follow us outside Kan." Kaito instructed.

Kan followed, standing up shakily as the two aged men moved out, their faces radiating a calm anxiety. Soon they exited, and when they didn't see a glum expression, tension gathered through the village that had gathered around. Once the two men had commanded total attention of the crowd, Kaito started:

"People of the Southern Water Tribe," He began loudly.

"We present to you…" Nguyet continued; the tension gathering.

"Avatar Kan!" They said in a booming chorus.

There was a pause, like the deep breath before you take before diving into icy cold water. And then, the two Sages walked in front of Kan, and lay down in front of him, bowing deeply towards him. Kan looked at the two holy men with disbelief, and was taken aback as the entire village, including his closest friends, knelt and bowed in front of him, as if he was some sort of divine deity, which he actually was.

Then the Sages stood up, the rest of the village was still bowing. "Avatar, come with us and we will begin our Waterbending training." Nguyet said, and walked into the building.

Looking at the bowing village like it was part of some absurd and surreal dream, and then walked into the building, his jaw still agape. Inside the building, instead of heading to the main chamber, Nguyet and Kaito stopped by an icy wall. Then they both raised their hands in a Waterbending form, and as they struck their hands down, an opening appeared in the wall.

"How'd you…" Kan asked, confused.

"We built this building ourselves with Waterbending, and hid a training room here." Kaito explained with a small smirk.

"Training room…?" He asked, and paled as he looked into the room.

It was more impressive than any room he had ever seen in the Southern Water Tribe. It was massive, a large pool of water in the middle, the entire room was constructed of ice, and the icy rim around the water contained three wide pools. It seemed the perfect place for one to practice Waterbending, and that was exactly what they were going to do in this chamber.

Kaito and Nguyet pulled off their half-robe coats and polar-bear headdresses, and under it there was a traditional Northern Water Tribe battle suit. And for the first time, he got a proper look at their faces that were usually veiled by their headdress.

Nguyet and Kaito both had snow-white hair that reached down to their shoulders, and had a matching beard. But the difference between the two was that Nguyet's face was much more gaunt and wrinkled with age, while Kaito seemed younger, but his eyes contained a more solitary wisdom, so it was hard to know which of the two Sages was older.

Nguyet and Kaito quickly assumed a limber battle-stance.

"Kan, prepare yourself!" Kaito shouted, and quickly a jet of water was speeding towards him. Kan moved his hands, but didn't have time to react, and felt a heavy blow against his chest, the wind blown out of his lungs and his head bashed against the solid ice.

Kan stood up slowly, taking in a rattling breath.

"Kan, remember. Make your enemies attack your attack, return the blow with their own blow." Nguyet instructed.

Then he shot another jet. But this time, Kan was ready, and with a circular movement, he spun the water around his body and shot it back towards Nguyet. It was a successful attack, but Nguyet was an experienced master, and with a flick of his wrist he turned the jet into a blast of steam that faded away into the air.

"Very good Kan," Kaito complimented. "But now we will try this technique without combat." He continued, taking a deep breath, and lifting some water out of the main pool.

"We will circle this water between me and you, back and forth." Kaito said, slowly maneuvering the water towards him. "Now bring it back."

With a broad movement, he swung the stream of clear water from around his back, and then returned it to Kaito.

They continued this exercise for about half an hour, sometimes passing the stream of water between Sages. They accelerated in speed, making the technique more difficult. Sometimes the stream dropped, but they continued quickly after that.

"Shift your weight through every movement; this will master your power over the water's flow." Nguyet said.

"Make your movements fluid and smooth, release your inner tension, and let the chi flow freely in your movements,"

The Sages kept instructing him, and soon the movement came like second nature. But he grew tired.

"How long do we have to do this?" Kan asked tediously.

"We will continue for today and some part of our future training sessions." Kaito answered patiently.

Kan grunted. "Do we really have to? I've already mastered it."

"Really?" Nguyet asked.

"Yes," Kan nodded. "I have."

"Then do this technique with two streams of water." Kaito said, pulling another stream of water from the pool and sending it into Nguyet's and Kan's circulation.

Nguyet sent it around with ease, but as it moved to Kan, both the streams fell to the ground.

"Once you can send five streams simultaneously, you will have mastered the form, and then we will not have to practice this anymore." Kaito explained, dismaying Kan.

So now they continued, practicing with two streams.

"Focus on both streams equally, know where each stream is, and don't keep your focus on only one stream or you will lose balance and thusly, control." Kaito explained from the side.

Kan tried and tried, and after many failures, he was finally able to control two streams.

Then, after about another hour of training with two streams, Nguyet picked up the water and froze it into a ball, and then sunk it into the icy floor.

"We will resume training tomorrow morning at sunrise," He said.

"When will we stop?" Kan asked.

"When we find you have trained enough for one day." Kaito said and left the room, leaving Kan anxious to see what they had for the next lesson.


End file.
